Building on the momentum of last year’s successful cleanup of the ash ponds, the Wiscasset selectboard authorized Town Manager Dennis Simmons to work with Ransom Consulting LLC to submit a new brownfields application for further remediation and cleanup funding at the former Mason Station power plant.

Specifically, these funds would be used to clean up an area of the Birch Point property known as the North Point fill area. On May 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the town is one of 14 recipients to be awarded funding from the U.S. EPA Brownfields Program to help remediate environmental hazards across the State of Maine, including the North Point fill area at Mason Station. In his remarks announcing the award, David Lloyd, director of the Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, noted the submitted an “outstanding application, and we deeply appreciate the tremendous commitment of time and energy that went into its preparation.”

The $700,000 award will be used for the planning, engineering, safe removal and disposal of inorganic contaminants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminates, all without the requirement of local matching funds. Receipt of this grant enhances the selectboard’s commitment to improving the health and quality of life of Wiscasset residents and visitors. This is another important step towards the long sought redevelopment of the Birch Point property into its highest and best use.